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“Of all the systems we evaluated, iVantage® was the only system that had all the features and functionality we needed. The cost, features, ease of customization, and the ability to add modules, such as Employee Self Service, one step at a time were real selling points.”

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stablished in 1985, Flad Affiliated Corp (FAC) is a private service organization that caters to a group of architecture, engineering and construction management firms including Affiliated Construction Services, Affiliated Engineers, Inc. and Flad & Associates, Inc. The firms specialize in the planning, design and construction management of innovative facilities for academic, healthcare, research, development and production clients. With offices in over 16 locations throughout the United States, the companies are nationally recognized leaders in serving the complex needs of knowledge-based organizations and providing clients with highly specialized design solutions, including the development of laboratories for industry and academic institutions and state-of-the-art healthcare facilities. FAC provides common business services for these companies in the form of accounting, benefit administration, payroll, banking, investments and project systems.

FAC came to Spectrum Human Resource Systems Corporation in 2000 after they had begun to experience some growing pains when they went from 600 to 900 employees in just two years. FAC knew they had to find an HRIS that could grow with their unique structure and multiple locations. It was important that applicant and employee information was kept separate by firm and location, yet they still needed a centralized location for their system in order to administer benefits. They were in dire need of a system that could keep up with the rapid, continuous growth of the multiple locations throughout their companies, while keeping information secure for each individual location. “We needed a centralized point of entry for all information and all locations,” said Jennifer Linley, iVantage Administrator at Flad Affiliated Corp.

Although keeping information secure at individual locations was important, they also needed a simple way to quickly communicate important changes to employee records at each location. With approximately 35 HR users across different locations accessing the system everyday, it was imperative that they be able to communicate in a timely manner. “The ease of tasks and system generated emails made Spectrum’s iVantage the obvious choice,” said Linley.

FAC went live with iVantage in February 2001, allowing them to secure their data by location. “By having a location history page and basing security on location code, keeping information separate by company was no longer an issue,” said Linley. “We also added a new page for tracking multiple addresses and address types since our companies do a lot of summer intern hiring. In the past, trying to keep track of college and permanent addresses was difficult, but with iVantage, our recruiters have all the information they need right at their fingertips.”

Reporting was also a major factor in their decision to purchase iVantage. “In our business, we work with many different insurance companies, said Linley. “It was imperative that we were able to reconcile monthly billings for these companies quickly and accurately. Pulling reports in iVantage is a breeze and government reporting is virtually stress-free.” Linley also touts that with iVantage, they have greatly improved their benefits tracking and monthly reconciliations. “Employees are put on and taken off insurance in a timely fashion, which makes our billing more accurate and easier to manage,” said Linley.

Because FAC has such a large base of current and former employees, data entry was time consuming and labor-intensive, and information was difficult to track accurately. “Before iVantage, getting employee and applicant history was a long, painful and manual process,” said Linley. “With iVantage, applicant, employee and previous employee history is right at our fingertips.”

For FAC, the positive results of iVantage as their tool of choice are numerous. iVantage freed up their HR staff’s valuable time and resources – allowing them to concentrate on recruiting, retaining, training and other important HR tasks, rather than being bogged down with cumbersome data entry and number crunching for their 900 active employees. “Our HRIS administration is now located in one office and we no longer have to scramble to get information from multiple systems at multiple locations,” said Linley. “To us, the system is priceless.”

Linley was part of the HR team that evaluated over a dozen HR systems. “Of all the systems we evaluated, iVantage was the only system that had all the features and functionality we needed,” said Linley. “The cost, features, ease of customization and the ability to add modules, such as Employee Self Service, one step at a time were real selling points.”

When asked what else about iVantage she couldn’t live without, Linley raved about the Spectrum staff. “The best feature, by far, is that we have a reliable, knowledgeable and friendly support staff available to us at all times,” said Linley. “The training by the support staff is exceptional as well. I attended Sys-Ed 2003 (the national user’s conference) and the training and networking was such a wonderful experience. Now, I can call others who use the system and see how they have handled specific issues. You can’t ask for much more than that!”

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About Spectrum Human Resource Systems Corporation

Spectrum has been providing top-of-the-line HR systems for 20 years. A team of HR professionals develop, support and sell our software with a primary focus of meeting the needs of other HR professionals. Spectrum’s Web and desktop-based HR systems include robust HR functionality and complete integrated reporting which is highly customizable and easy-to-use. As a Microsoft® Certified Solution Provider and one of the HRIS industry innovators, a Spectrum system is built on industry standard and dependable technology. With a company mission of achieving and maintaining client enthusiasm, you can be sure Spectrum will exceed your expectation every step of the way!

For additional information on Spectrum’s products and services, call 800.477.3287 or visit workforcesystems.com